Cookie preferences
Toggle menu

Help shape your future council websites

New websites are being developed for East Surrey Council and West Surrey Council ahead of their launch in April 2027. 

Take part in a short survey to help make sure those websites are easy to use. The survey takes just 5 to 10 minutes. 

Have your say before 5 October (opens new window)

Resident Engagement

We are committed to putting tenants and leaseholders at the heart of our housing services and we believe the best services are shaped by the people who use them. Resident engagement is about working together through open, honest and ongoing conversations to improve services.

We want residents to have meaningful opportunities to share their views, influence decisions and help shape housing services.
You'll understand what to expect from us and how we use your feedback to improve our services.

It also sets out our commitment to ensuring engagement is accessible, inclusive and representative of our neighbourhoods.
Please note, resident engagement activities are separate from statutory consultation requirements, including Section 20 leaseholder consultations.
These are governed by specific legal processes: Find out about major works

What is resident engagement?

When we refer to resident engagement, we mean working with tenants and leaseholders to improve services and communities. It gives residents a voice in decisions which affect where they live.

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) introduced the Consumer Standards in April 2024. Within these standards, the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard requires landlords to offer meaningful and accessible engagement opportunities to residents.

Engagement is a two-way process. We listen to residents, consider feedback and explain how views have influenced decisions.

Residents can get involved in many ways, from completing surveys and attending events, to joining resident groups and helping design services.

Why is resident engagement important?

Resident engagement helps ensure housing services reflect the needs and experiences of the people who use them. We actively seek resident feedback to:

  • influence decisions that affect your homes and communities
  • help improve services through lived experience
  • build stronger relationships with the Council
  • develop confidence, skills and community connections
  • understand how decisions are made
  • help us meet our commitments as a social landlord

We recognise residents are experts through their lived experience. Engagement brings together resident insight, professional expertise and technical knowledge. By valuing all three equally, we can make better decisions and deliver services to meet our residents' needs.

Our commitment to resident engagement

We recognise residents want to get involved in different ways. Some residents will have more time to invest by joining a group, while others may prefer quick surveys or one-off workshops. Our commitment to you is that we will:

  • put resident voices at the heart of decision making
  • build a culture of collaboration, fairness and respect
  • strengthen scrutiny, accountability and transparency
  • improve communication and access to information
  • offer a wide range of ways for you to get involved
  • encourage more residents to engage with housing services

We are committed to co-designing policies, strategies, service standards and other important documents with residents wherever possible.

Our engagement offer

There are many ways for tenants and leaseholders to get involved, whether you can spare five minutes or want ongoing involvement. We aim to offer opportunities that suit different interests and levels of commitment.

You can find out more about each of our engagement opportunities below:

How do resident feedback influences decisions?

Resident feedback helps shape housing services, policies, strategies and service standards. We gather your views through engagement activities and use the insight to make better informed decisions.

You can expect us to:

  • listen to your feedback and consider your views
  • use your feedback to improve services and decision making
  • communicate with you the outcomes of the engagement

Resident Engagement Journey:
Share your views → We listen → We review your feedback → We make improvements → We tell you what has changed as a result.

You can see how your feedback has shaped services on our You Said, We Did webpage. We update this page biannually so you can clearly see how your feedback has made an impact on services. We also regularly publish updates in our Contact Point magazine.

Support available

We want all residents to feel comfortable to get involved. Reducing barriers to engagement means we have better representation from our neighbourhoods and the decisions we make are fair and informed.

We can offer residents support to access our engagement opportunities, including help with:

  • translation and interpretation
  • support with digital access or meetings
  • transport
  • childcare
  • accessing venues
  • other reasonable adjustments

If you would like to get involved or learn more, please contact the Resident Engagement Team:
By email: tenants.group@guildford.gov.uk, or call 01483 505050.